D ON ON L June Vol 33 July No 3 2011 The Royal Albert, New Cross (see page 40) Tel: 020 7281 2786 Steak & Ale House SET MENU SALE u 3 course meals for just £16! - or u 3 courses for just just £21 including a 10oz Sirloin or Rib- eye steak - or u A two course meal (starter and main or main and dessert) for just £11 So much choice there is something for ...Six Cask Marque everyone... oh, and Cask Marque accredited real ales accredited ales! always on tap and You can follow us on Facebook for all events and updates and on 40+ malt and blended Twitter@north_nineteen whiskies also now on. Membership discounts on ale available, All proper, fresh sign up at www.northnineteen.co.uk Steakhouse food. In the main bar: Food is served: Tuesday - Live music and open mic 8pm start Wednesday - Poker Tournament 7.30pm start Tuesday-Friday 5-10pm Dart board and board games always available Saturday 12-10pm Prefer a quiet pint? Sunday 12-7pm Our Ale and Whisky Bar is open daily for food, drinks and conversation. We always have six well Cask Marque Please book your Sunday Roast kept real ales and 40+ top quality whiskies. accredited There are no strangers here, just friends you haven’t met yet Editorial London Drinker is published by Mike Hammersley on behalf of the London Branches of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real NDON Ale Limited, and edited by Geoff O Strawbridge. L Material for publication should preferably be sent by e-mail to [email protected]. Correspondents unable to send letters to the editor electronically may post them to Brian Sheridan at 4, Arundel House, Heathfield Road, Croydon CR0 1EZ. Press releases should be sent by email via [email protected] Changes to pubs or beers should be reported to Capital Pubcheck, 2 Sandtoft Road, London SE7 7LR or by e-mail to [email protected]. How can we stop this abuse? For publication in August 2011, please send electronic documents to the Editor no later couple of months ago, a London CAMRA, because it must mean that than Wednesday 6th July. ACAMRA branch officer showed pubs are having to charge their cus - SUBSCRIPTIONS: £4.00 for mailing of 6 editions or £8.00 for 12 should be sent to me the following email from a pub - tomers so much more than they Stan Tompkins, 52 Rabbs Mill House, lican who had signed up to the would otherwise need to do. It is all Chiltern View Road, Uxbridge, Middlesex, LocAle scheme: very well for us to be bemoan the UB8 2PD (cheques payable to CAMRA London). “About 12 months ago I joined maintenance of the last Govern - ADVERTISING: John Galpin SIBA... Initially I thought it was a great ment’s evil beer duty escalator, but Tel: 020 3287 2966. idea and to a degree I still do. But upon Ministers can see that the extra £1 Printed by Cliffe Enterprise, Eastbourne, BN22 8TR further investigation I discovered that that a small brewer might now be Enterprise and SIBA have agreed to charging on a £65 firkin of session Views expressed in this publication are those of their individual authors and are not charge the publican approx £30/cask beer as a result of the latest turn of necessarily endorsed by the Editor or the to use this service. I find this fee outra - that screw is trivial by comparison Campaign for Real Ale Limited. geous and yet another example of how with the surcharge that a large pub Advertise in the next destructive Enterprise is towards its ten - company will typically be imposing LONDON DRINKER ants. I don’t understand why either par - on its tied tenant for that firkin. Our advertising rates are as follows: Whole page £300 (colour) ty believes this is a good idea let alone In this issue, David Todd’s letter £240 (mono) a reasonable one. Is CAMRA aware makes the telling point that the Half page £180 (colour), £135 (mono) Quarter page £95 (colour), £70 (mono) of this extremely high fee? If so, what whole idea of advertising guest ales is Phone John Galpin now on is CAMRA’s opinion? ” defeated if they are priced at a level 020 3287 2966, Mobile 07508 036835 My colleague commented, “ How when no-one will buy. “ The likely out - [email protected] Enterprise can justify adding £30 a come is that sales will be slow, result - firkin for a phone call and a small ing in beer going stale and the compa - In this issue amount of admin is beyond me, other ny deciding that there is no demand .” Campaigning 4 than of course to boost their profit. ” My A pub in my branch area that reaction, following previous conver - charges £3.80 a pint for Sambrook’s News round-up 10 sations with other pub tenants and Wandle (3.8% ABV) is now asking to Great British with my son, a small brewer and SIBA be considered for the LocAle scheme. Beer Festival 26 member, was somewhat cynically to I have asked our representative for Pub and beer awards 30 express surprise that Enterprise were that district to give the beer there an - taking only £30 a firkin, by compar - other try; I’d had a half that was OK Book review 34 ison with the extra £45 or more that but I wasn’t going to fork out for a Letters 36 I knew some South West London pint. Branch diaries 38 pubs were having to pay to their pub - Even if the beer there is consis - cos, even on a firkin of Sambrook’s de - tently good though, should we be Antic Pub Collective 40 livered directly from just down the comfortable with opening LocAle ac - Capital Pubcheck 45 road. But I didn’t think it was a case creditation to criticism as endorse - ment of rip-off pricing? Indeed I Membership form 47 of Enterprise and SIBA agreeing to rip off the publican, rather SIBA reluc - could see a sound campaigning rea - Tooting 54 tantly accepting that Enterprise were son for withholding such accredita - Beer tasting 56 bound to rip off the publican who tion from pubs that charge much wanted to get the extra trade by more for their LocAles than their reg - Obituary 58 stocking more attractive beers – well ular pubco beer range. What do Idle Moments 60 they would, wouldn’t they? readers think? Crossword 62 But I do believe that this practice LD should be a matter of concern to Geoff Strawbridge 3 Campaigning CAMRA Members’ Weekend, Sheffield 2011 elebrating 40 years of campaigning, more prevent owners unreasonably rejecting community CCAMRA members registered to attend this bids and to work to enhance the legal, business and year’s Members’ Weekend, held in Sheffield on 16 financial support available for community pub and 17 April, than ever before. Formal business ownership. comprised the AGM and fourteen conference Motion 8 . This Conference welcomes the motions. A special resolution that would have reintroduction of guest beer rights by Enterprise allowed the National Executive, as opposed to the Inns and Punch Taverns for some of their tied members in General Meeting, to decide the lessees but believes further change is necessary. membership subscriptions from time to time was Conference calls on Government to pursue its clear heavily defeated at the AGM, but here are some of commitment to introduce a statutory code of the campaigning conference motions that were practice requiring pub companies with more than carried: 500 tied pubs to provide every tied lessee with a Motion 4 . This Conference condemns the growing guest beer right and a free of tie option. practice of breweries selling beers under a different Motion 11 . This Conference believes that higher brewery name, giving the impression that the beers strength drinks (spirits) should be taxed at a higher are from a separate independent brewery. rate per alcohol unit than lower strength products Conference instructs the National Executive to (beer) and deplores the alcohol tax policy of the last campaign against this misleading practice. CAMRA UK Government which increased beer duty by 60% beer festivals should be encouraged not to sell such but only increased spirits duty by 25%. Conference beers. instructs the National Executive to oppose calls Motion 5 . This Conference supports the from Diageo plc and others to equalise duty rates Government’s plans to place a moratorium on sales on beer and spirits and calls upon the National of valued pubs to developers to allow the Executive to campaign for an alcohol tax system community time to raise funds to buy the pub. that encourages the responsible and sociable Conference instructs the National Executive to consumption of beer in pubs. lobby the Government to extend these plans to Elections were held for vacancies on the 4 The Bree Louise 69 Cobourg St. NW1 2HH CAMRA North London Pub of the Year 2009 --10 Up to 17 ales and 11 ciders permanently available. www.thebreelouise.com CAMRA members -- 50p off a pint Campaigning National Executive following the annual retirement Most readers will know Christine, pictured left, of existing members by rotation. Christine Cryne as organiser of the London Drinker Beer Festival. of North London Branch was one of those elected. Christine is the chief executive of a children’s Although representation is not geographically- charity and, in the view of her many supporters, has based, it is good to have someone who understands just the right mix of skills and experience that London’s unique situation at the top table.